A Record a Week: Giants of Jazz - Duke Ellington

SIDE 1.
EAST ST. LOUIS TOODLE-OO
CREOLE LOVE CALL
BLACK AND TAN FANTASY
BLACK BEAUTY
JUBILEE STOMP
YELLOW DOG BLUES

SIDE 2.
HOT AND BOTHERED
THE MOOCHE
SHOOT 'EM AUNT TILLIE
RING DEM BELLS
MOOD INDIGO *The Jungle Band
ROCKIN' IN RHYTHM *The Harlem Footwarmers
IT DON'T MEAN A THING (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

SIDE 3.
BABY WHEN YOU AIN'T THERE
BUGLE CALL RAG
MERRY GO ROUND
HARLEM SPEAKS
IN THE SHADE OF THE OLD APPLE TREE
MERRY GO ROUND
TRUCKIN'

SIDE 4.
CLARINET LAMENT (Barney's Concerto)
ECHOES OF HARLEM (Cootie's Concerto)
CARAVAN
I LET A SONG GO OUT OF MY HEART
SOPHISTICATED LADY
JACK THE BEAR

SIDE 5.
KO-KO
CONCERT FOR COOTIE (Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me)
COTTON TAIL
NEVER NO LAMENT (Don't Get Around Much Anymore)
HARLEM AIR SHAFT
IN A MELLOTONE
WARM VALLEY

SIDE 6.
TAKE THE "A" TRAIN
I GOT IT BAD AND THAT AIN'T GOOD
PERDIDO
C JAM BLUES
ROCKABYE RIVER
JEEP'S BLUES

This one took me a couple of weekends to listen to in its entirety, so I apologize for the delay. Plus things have been busy, plus I had people here last weekend. With a side of I have no other excuses and will get back to business next week.

The 3-record collection is the last of the Giants of Jazz records that I have and as with the others, it takes a journey through the career of the artist over the span of their career. Instead of the way I did the other ones, this album seemed to mostly be Duke Ellington lead groups, except for the few songs I noted where the group name didn't include his name.

Spanning multiple styles and recording qualities, starting with the foundation of jazz and direct wax recording through to the multi-tracking days that were in their early years by the time he died. It's interesting to think that every new style of jazz heard on the record could conceivably have been brought upon by Ellington or even the very song. His progressive musical styling took jazz in new directions with the likes of Louis Armstrong and other innovators at the time. They never were around to experience anything but the beginning of the experimental likes of fusion and other newer branches of jazz. I would be interested to hear his take on that. It may not have suited his style, but as a musician I think he would have appreciated the creativity involved.

I would say this takes the 'bet of' term and brings it all the way up to 'thorough sampling of' territory. Definitely a must listen for fans of Ellington and those curious alike.